Settlement clears way for work to continue on California high-speed rail

The California High-Speed Rail Authority and the City of Brisbane have settled a two-year lawsuit that gets a project to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco via high-speed rail back on track. 

Brisbane filed a lawsuit over the proposed placement of a light maintenance facility (LMF) on the Baylands, a former rail yard and landfill in the city. The agreement involves reducing the size of the planned facility by more than 50 acres to avoid conflicts with existing infrastructure and future development projects. 

California’s high-speed rail line will eventually span 800 miles and include 24 stations that connect Sacramento and San Diego. When completed, it will be the nation’s first high-speed rail line, capable of running from San Francisco to Los Angeles in three hours at speeds of more than 200 mph. 

Former City Manager Clay Holstine, under whom the settlement discussions started, said the city expected to release the draft Baylands project environmental impact report “in the coming months,” noting that the authority and city would work together to bring Brisbane the necessary resources to support environmental and safety improvements to the area. 

Work has begun to extend the 119 miles under construction to 171 miles of electrified high-speed rail from Merced to Bakersfield. Since the start of construction, the High-Speed Rail Authority has created nearly 14,000 construction jobs, with more than 70 percent going to residents from disadvantaged communities. 

The estimated cost for the Central Valley segment alone is estimated to be $35 billion, and the full Los Angeles-San Francisco route could potentially cost $100 billion. So far, approximately $6.8 billion has been spent on the Central Valley portion. 

Completion of the Central Valley segment is projected between 2030 and 2033. 

Other conditions of the settlement include: 

• The city will study in sufficient detail and propose for approval an alternative in its environmental impact report that avoids land use conflicts. 

• Collaboration between the city and authority on the aesthetic design of the LMF. 

• Pursuit of funding opportunities that have a connection to the public health and safety of the Brisbane Baylands. 

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash